Matsue

Matsue is a castle city in Shimane Prefecture on the San'in coast, built where Lake Shinji drains toward the Sea of Japan. Water defines it: moats thread the center, and sunset turns the lake gold each evening behind a tiny shrine island.

Matsue Castle is one of only five castles designated national treasures, a black-walled original whose moats you can tour by pole boat, ducking under low bridges. The writer Lafcadio Hearn lived beside the castle, and his former house and memorial museum still stand on the old samurai street.

The city's tea ceremony tradition runs deep, so pause for matcha and wagashi sweets in a lakeside teahouse. Save a half day for Izumo Taisha, the great shrine west along the lake, and try the local shijimi clam soup. Matsue anchors the quiet San'in region's unhurried charms.